alienara2

Mate I could give you the contact of someone selling guppies for real cheap down in Manukau if you want, just PM me. Would've been more than happy to give you some if I saw your post 3 - 6 months down the line as I've just started a guppy tank with loads of plants haha, but they're no where close to being able to be transported yet. Check with Caryl to see if she has any plants to spare, she gave me heaps of help when I was starting up my tank and needed lots of plants.

Alright so toss it away it is...

So... I've heard that to start a green water culture, one needs some sort of decaying matter to speed up the process. Didn't have any lettuce so I thought "Hell, I've got heaps of duckweed, let's use that." Grabbed 2 spoonfuls and set them aside to dry. Few days later when it was nice and dried, I popped it into a 3L bottle and filled it with water. This morning, I woke up to a container full of purple water. Now, either this is chlorophyll from the duckweed leaching into the water, or it's purple algae? LOL. Anyone has any ideas?

Also, does anyone know if it's possible get the shrimps at the Henderson Creek? Thinking about the place where it ends near The Falls restaurant. Thanks all.

Since it seems like quite a number of you here have microworms, just wondering, if anyone here has a starter culture in Auckland they're happy to give away or trade for a starter daphnia culture? Thanks!

So can you just go there, bring a net and bring home some freshwater shrimp for the tank?

Interesting.... will try and find it.

Anyone in West Auckland has too much Daphnia and wants to get rid of some of them? Looking to start a new clan where I am =D Thanks!

Love you long time Shilo!!! I didn't want to put too much water in there as I'm still wanting to get more plants for the aquarium. Caryl has been very generous with her stash so just waiting for those to come. Before leaving for work today I set the streamers (think that's what they're called) to fire on the water (creating bubbles) rather than at the tank (to keep it quiet) so hopefully oxygenating it will help. Thanks again Shilo. Was worried that I would have had to remove everything...

Hey all, So here's the situation, I've set up my tank, put dirt and gravel down and just before I plugged in my filter, I ran it externally since it was a little stinky. Black water came out and it stank to the high heavens. Anyway, I then flushed away the water, kept letting the filter run until the water ran clear and then used it in the aquarium (didn't clean the canister, stupid me). Anyway, the smell then transferred into the tank. I thought that if I let it run for a little the smell will clear... nope. Then finally took the canister, opened it with much trepidation, and cleaned it out. Previous owners left the ceramic noodles in the plastic bag in one of the shelves and got me going wtf... Anyway, cleared the canister, no smells there, plugged it back into the aquarium and ran it for the rest of the night. This morning, water still stank. My question now is what should I do? Drain the tank as much as I can (bearing in mind that I have gravel and dirt) and refill with fresh water? There's only 10% of water in it right now coz I planted some star grass yesterday. If this goes on any longer I think I'm going to have to rename my house Rotorua... Thanks guys.

When you say behind the Zoo, is it in the huge lake or the small pond? The pond right behind the zoo in Western springs is quite yuck tbh...

Sorry Maxxi, bought it second hand and doesn't seem to say anything about brand of type.

With the double pane, isn't the theory to use air as an insulation? If you used the epoxy that has no air bubbles, then that doesn't really work... I think. Thanks for the thoughts guys. Good to have some discussion here. Would this idea then work if I totally sealed each area up? In that way, theoretically, because there is no exchange between the air between the glass and plastic sheet, the condensation should only appear on the outer side of the plastic sheet.

Darn... not really keen to just get stock off Trademe and pet stores so was hoping someone would be breeding them...

Saw an old post talking about using acrylic sheets to create the same effect as a double glazed window on 3 sides of an aquarium. Acrylic seems really expensive so I was wondering if Plastic sheets were a viable replacement. My thoughts were to cut up plastic sheets to match the length of the aquarium for the back glass and sides, and use heavy duty double sided tape to tape the plastic sheets to the aquarium. Since the aquarium has plastic surrounds, there would naturally be a gap between the aquarium glass and plastic sheet. Thoughts?

Thanks Maxxi, yeah it is one of those with the plastic surround and it seems like there is glass along the bottom of the tank that kinda forms a rectangle where the middle is the bottom glass. Hope this description makes sense.

Speaking of which, just noticed that the sealant for 2 sides doesn't seem to be as smooth as the other side (left). Craggy edges as though it's fading away. Trying to add the photo but it keeps saying that my max size is 0.39 mb but the file is only about 0.1mb Anything I should be concerned about? Last thing I want is the damn thing splitting apart,

So I've been reading up about insulation and know that a lot of people would use styrofoam under the aquarium and on the back of it to conserve as much heat as possible. I've also just read that the foam may or may not help if the stand / floor sags in keeping the aquarium level. My stand has 6 legs to support my 90cm wide, 200L aquarium. I have a carpeted floor. So my question is, should I Remove the legs so that the stand is level on the floor?Get a styrofoam box from one of the fish stores, chop it up into flat sheets and use it under the aquarium?What would you experienced fishos recommend? Thanks!

Just checking if anyone's breeding guppies here in Auckland?

Welcome Vinz! My love for fish started when I was around your age too and it has never subsided. You'll find awesome people here and great information to help you get the most out of your passion. All the best!

Okay, I'll avoid the moss for now. How many plants can I get for that postage? Thinking of chucking the oxygen plants into our outdoor pond. Flippin filled with algae now and the pump / filter doesn't seem to be working. Gonna go all natural and see what happens haha

Another question, if I went with pure pool filter sand without any gravel, will that work for a tropical tank?

love you long time caryl!! What's postage like up to Auckland? May need some oxygen plants sooner rather than later

much thanks Shiloh! I'm going to try it out

rented a bigger place haha. Now we've got two living areas and I'm trying my best to mark my territory. Just the computer alone is not enough lol Kids are also a little older to appreciate the beauty of fish so thought it'd be best to brush up before starting the new tank